Burning Feathers
by Lychalis
Summary: Alydra, a young elf just over 20 summers old, searches for the reason why her father vanished - presumably died, and discovers a shocking conspiracy.
1. Two Sisters

**Pronunciations:**

Silme (Meaning: Moonlight) – Seel-may

Ruscion – Roos-kee-on

Aesuithiel – Eye-swee-thee-ell

**DC: **No, I do not own Perfect World, sorry.

Oh also, thank you to that person who is currently writing 'Blood Rose'. You gave me the inspiration to start this.

Do put your thoughts forth if you have any. I'm still new to the whole 'fanfic' rave.

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Bamboo Village. Situated at the edge of a Forest of – surprisingly – Bamboo trees. I've lived there all my life, pretty much. Nothing much to say about it, it's nice, I suppose, pretty simple, right by the Silme Lake, the deep silvery-blue waters that hold a thousand secrets. I like to sit by the waterside and watch the Undine flit through the water. Beautiful, they are. But only from a distance. I just sit there and watch them, and the turtles. It's nice to get away from everything, my family, that sort of thing. There's always a lovely smell around here as well, it's blown down from the leaves as they sway in the evening wind.

"Back at your haunt, Alydra?" A warm, soprano voice sounded above my head, I looked up, trying to find the source. I smiled when I saw the familiar face.

"Hey Adalesk." I grinned at my older sister, who came and sat down beside me.

"I always seem to find you here." She commented.

"I _like_ it here, Adalesk, it's better than at home…" I protested meekly. Alydra sighed, she was the only adult in my family who respected my choice to start training as an archer. Five summers later, and I could still remember my mother's voice when I relayed to them my choice.

"_Alydra." Her tone had been highly disapproving. "You are an elven woman. Women do not fight. You know that."_

_I'd glared at her. "Mother, I'm old enough to make my own decisions. You know that." I'd pointed out quietly, but the message was clear. I'd glanced at my father, Thalion, but he'd looked away. I'd caught a glimpse of his eyes, unlike my mother; his were filled with pain and regret. I never found out why._

"_Leave her be, Aesuithiel, she is right." My father had said, stopping my mother from speaking again, as she had been ready to go on - what looked like - a tirade on the etiquette of Elvish women. With a very unladylike huff, she'd turned and swept from the room. I'd heard a door close upstairs shortly after._

_Our house is fairly small, mind, two bedrooms, and a room for sitting and relaxing. I share a room with Adalesk and our little brother, Ruscion, on the lower floor, while my Mother and Father sleep upstairs. The village is so community-based there's little need for anything else, we rarely even enter the house besides to sleep._

_I'd then looked to my father, still watching me with that so very strange look. I'd thought he was going to lecture me as well, but he didn't. He walked over and still watched me, he was working up to say something, I was sure of that. _

_Finally he'd inhaled, "I am not saying I agree with your choice, I would rather you took a different path, but only you can make the decision on what to do with your life." I'd watched him curiously as he reached around his neck and taken his pendant off. It was a Jade stone, cut to form the shape of an arrow, and had a gold hoop near the tail feather where the chain was threaded through. It was so small, so delicate. He was trusting it to me? He'd said nothing as he'd fixed the silky chain around my neck. "The strongest things in life are always close to your heart." He'd whispered, vanishing upstairs._

The next morning he'd been called away with some of the other elves to fight a small group of the Tauroc, who had raided a village at the edge of Heaven's Tear.  
He never came back.

I think my mother always blamed me for that.


	2. Pyres in the Past

**A/N: **The dead human child and Ruscion's fever will probably have some significance later on in the story, I have an idea in my head, but I haven't completely got it worked out.

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I released the taught flax string, barely noticing the 'phtt' sound as the arrow thudded into the bark, I was already yanking another out of my quiver. Vipers watched from within the grasses, but they deigned to approach, and I ignored them. All my attention was solely focused on the one tree before me, and all I was thinking about was peppering it with arrows, as many as I could shoot from my bow. It was good target practice, and a good outlet for my building rage. I felt like every arrow was another drop evaporating out of me, misting away through the air.

"You sure are pissed off with that tree." Adalesk commented, walking up behind me.

I stopped, just about to let another arrow fly though the air, and let the bow fall slowly to my side as I returned the arrow to my quiver. I didn't look at my sister, I just glared at the ground in silence.

After a while, I found words to describe the turmoil within my heart. "Father was a seasoned fighter, Adalesk, he could've easily defeated those Taurocs." My words were quiet, but the emotion beneath them was not, fury and unrest radiated from every spoken syllable.

Adalesk smiled slightly, I didn't see it as my eyes were pointed firmly to the ground, but I could feel the corners of her lips twitch up at the corners. "So _that's _it." The tone of her voice was so knowing and so perceptive that I looked up in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, it was like she could easily read what was going through my mind, even though I had pretty much summed it up for her, she was able to delve even deeper. It surprised me.

Adalesk merely shrugged, and I suppressed a snort. Just like her to be so pandamn tenacious when she knew something I didn't, or knew something I did know, but didn't know that I knew it. I turned away with an overly expressed rolling of my eyes. Call it overkill if you want, I felt like it. "Why are you here, Adalesk?" I said in an emotionless voice. She knew the best that I liked to be left alone when I was slaughtering trees.

"Chen… needs a favour." Adalesk said hesitantly.

"The blacksmith?" I asked.

Adalesk nodded, "who else?" she pointed out, there was only one Chen in bamboo village. Only one we knew and loved. "Anyway, he needs to get some soulgems picked up from Plume for the fighter's weapons." She said, still in that same, careful tone. Why? Was she worried that I'd say no? I hadn't been into Plume for a few summers, it'd been a while. As she said this, I watched her eye following a Cactopod capering behind the trees. The Cactipod in the Shining Moon Forest weren't strong and were easily dealt with when they attacked, but they were rather aggressive, annoyingly so, and their needles were painful. I would know, I took a few once in the arm when I was collecting some to be made into sewing needles for the Seamstress and the Tailor. Only one word can truly describe the feeling - OUCH.

_My father, whilst walking through the forest, had encountered a child lying on the ground nearby once. He couldn't be more than nine summers. He had fallen foul of a Cactopod, the multitude of needles protruding from made that fact plain enough. The curious thing though, and it was a very curious thing indeed, was that the child was a Human._

_Either way, it had been a sad moment, my father had told me, as when he reached the little boy, it became apparent that he had died some minutes before. He was so young. Too young to die like that, alone, in agony, no-one to help him or give him comfort. It was such a shame._

_The Elder had arrogantly refused Thalion's request to give the boy a funeral. '__A human dies every day, there's nothing unique that gives a need for remembrance.' Those were the exact words he had said, before sending us on our way. Bastard. The boy was just a child, he had never deserved to die, was it too much to offer one ounce of respect to the death of a Mocker's Bird?_

_Besides, there __had been something unique about his death. It had been within the realm of the Elves, and the nearest human village was from our village and the forest. At least two weeks walking, and one week's flight, not constituting the stops for resting. So how did he come to be there? To die there? No-one knew._

_We held a private funeral for him ourselves. At night, while the village was bound by sleep. Just me, my father and Adalesk._

_My father had carved out a little boat from a sapling, which took about a day at least. Adalesk preserved the boy's body with a simple freezing charm. Next sunset, we'd placed his little body in the boat and pushed her out into the Silme Lake. My father had then taken a blazing arrow and shot it into the stern of the boat. He and Adalesk had stayed to watch in grave silence until the fire had taken hold, before they headed back to the house, leaving me there in solitude. I watched as the strength of the wood in the boat, weakened by the searing flames, gave way, letting the child's body slip though it and into the water, sinking far below the surface where the fishes would nibble on his still, still toes._

_"I'm sorry it had to end that way." I'd whispered softly, before standing and leaving the scene to return to the house, as the last remnants of the fire had passed away into the water, leaving nothing but damn charcoal and ashes floating on the water._

"To be honest, Chen asked me, but I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Adalesk said, bringing me out of the memories, "normally he'd ask Ruscion, but he came down with that fever the other day…" she tailed off into silence.

I nodded, "Yeah, I remember, Mother's frantic about it." I said dryly, moving to yank the arrows out of the bark and replace them in my quiver. I would clean them later on in the day.

"So do you want to come?" Adalesk asked.

I snorted, "Obviously. I haven't been to Plume in nearly two summers!"


	3. Like Mother, Unlike Daughter

**A/N:** Again, I own nothing of Perfect World but the characters. Enjoy the chapter. :D

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My mother looked up as me and Adalesk entered the house. "Alydra, where have you been?" she asked, almost sharply. I was surprised, but it just like her these days. No warm smile, no greeting, just a swift reprimand for being late.

"Good to see you too, Mother," I replied with a soft dryness to my voice, there was a hardness to my tone that always arose when I spoke to my mother, Aesuithiel. She was the partial reason for the rage that boiled beneath the thin membrane that was my skin. She was the partial reason I was driven to walk into the forest most nights and relieve that rage, one arrow at a time, until the bark of the Bamboo tree that was unlucky enough to befall the focal point of my violent urges was completely peppered with arrows. I felt Adalesk wince beside me at the tension emanating from me and Aesuithiel. Guilt twinged the fibres of my nerves. Adalesk hated the fact that the relationship between my mother and I was as it was. Ruscion didn't understand. 12 summers old, he was still learning the history of Pangu and its creator. He was also Chen's apprentice. I admit I do have my suspicions that my mother is brainwashing him that I dishonoured the family name by choosing to start training as an archer. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. That doesn't matter anymore. I still stand by what my father told me, 5 summers ago. "_Only you can decide what to do with your life._" He was right. I'm not going back on that. Not now. It was an annoying fact, that the parent that encouraged me died, and I was stuck with the parent that disapproved. Adalesk was the only member of my family that I could turn to.

Aesuithiel's eyes took on a coldness that could only be found in the icy wastelands of the far north, so far and so remote that hardly anyone had ever gone there, "Alydra._ Where were you?_" she asked in a steel tone.

I sighed, rolling my eyes in that signature style that I made my own. "I was doing some target practice, okay? Why does it matter?" I said, folding my arms defiantly.

My mothered narrowed her eyes. "Where?" she asked quietly.

I breathed in, and was about to answer when Adalesk pitched in, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Mother, how is Ruscion?" she asked softly, a worried look in her eyes subtly concealing the pleading emotion within her, the sudden urge to alleviate the tension crackling through the air like static.

The effect was immediate. A motherly softness came into my mother's eyes as she turned to Adalesk. Some part of me, hidden deep inside my mind, a part that longed to be loved and accepted by the one person who birthed me, brought me into the world, gave me life, that part almost cried from desolation and sadness. That tender expression and tone was used exclusively by my mother for Adalesk and Ruscion. The brought honour to the family. They weren't rebellious, angry disappointments. Unlike me.

"Nothing's changed so far," My mother said softly, biting her lip. "The healer elf is baffled."

I closed my eyes, sadness filtering through my mind. Ruscion had staggered home a few nights ago, a little dizzy, but apart from that, he was fine. We all thought he had gotten drunk with one of his friends, even though he was too young, even for an elf. My mother had scolded him soundly and sent him to bed. By dawn, I had awaked to find my mother panicking over him. A closer look made me realise that he was in the clutch of a ferocious fever. When Adalesk awoke and saw his condition, she ran out of the house and to the apothecary to get the healer elf. So far he's had little luck in curing Ruscion, who has, if anything, gotten worse. If only we could find out what caused this fever, it wouldn't be a cure, but it would be _something,_ at least.

"Mother, Alydra and I are going to Plume for a day or so." Adalesk said quietly.

Aesuithiel looked up, "why is that?" she asked curiously.

"Chen needs some Soulgems collected from Plume, normally, Ruscion would go, but considering that he's sick, Chen asked me if I was able." Adalesk explained readily to her, my mother nodded, although she still looked confused.

"Why would that take two of you?" she asked of Adalesk, her eyes were questioning.

I decided to speak up. "It wouldn't, but Adalesk asked if I wanted to tag along." I explained, I was shocked when I saw no hardness arise in my mother's eyes, but I hid the surprise and continued. "Besides, while Adalesk is collecting the Soulgems, I could ask around about the fever, see if anyone knows anything?" I suggested, watching my mother carefully for any clues to her response.

After a few moments pause, Aesuithiel smiled and nodded. "That is a good idea, Alydra, thank you." She said, sounding relieved, surprising me again. That smile was _genuine_, now how many times had that happened since my father vanished and I began to train as an archer? Not many, I think.

I couldn't help but return the smile. "A pleasure, but thank you as well, mother" I said to her.

My mother seemed happy with me trying to help, "don't forget, stay safe. The lake seems to be filled with Ultrafins these days." She warned us.

Me and Adalesk nodded, and turned, before leaving the house. Once the door was shut, I looked at Adalesk, "that was surprising." I said, stunned.

Adalesk shrugged. "You're trying to help Ruscion, of course she approved." She said it as if it were obvious.

I nodded, "yeah, I guess so." I said.

Adalesk smiled, and then her grin suddenly became impish. "Last one to the lake is a dead viper!" she yelled, running off.

I stared for a few seconds before grinning as well. "Oh no you don't!" I called, running off in fiery hot pursuit.

I run a lot, so I easily caught up easily, beating Adalesk by a hair's breadth. I swung around, whooping and laughing – and then promptly fell into the water.

Now it was Adalesk's turn to laugh her little head off as I got up and shook myself off, red-faced and dripping wet. "Bah, it'll dry off in the wind." I muttered, unfolding my wings, shaking out my soaking hair. "Shut up!" I growled to Adalesk, who was still laughing, but I smiled. She finally managed to stop and she unfolded her wings. We set off, letting the wind catch our wings as we glided and flew to the other side of the lake.

30 minutes later, we set down in front of the Highwind Bridge,, the huge oak of Plume City towering above us. As we reached the other end of the bridge, Adalesk turned to me. "I'll be at the hostel in two hours, you know where to go?" she asked.

I nodded, the hostel was on one of the lower level within the boughs of the huge oak tree, but first, I had my own errands to deal with. "I'll go find the Elder." I said. After all, the Elder was the best place to start. Adalesk nodded and we separated.


	4. Lotus in the Water

**DC:** Again, I own nothing of Perfect World but the characters. Enjoy the chapter. :D

**Pronunciations:**

Eruraviel – Air-oo-rah-vee-ell

Maethirion – My-theer-ee-on

Tsuka – soo-kah

**A/N:** The name Lady Tsuka was of my own creation, I wanted to have a more personal term for Alydra to refer to her as, since you can see there is a sort of bond between them. Same with the statue, I wanted to give it a history, even though it's not necessarily true.

Please, R&R. It's nice t o hear your thoughts.

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I wandered across the open grasses of Plume city, glancing briefly at the statue, looking behind it, would only show a large wing-feather, a beautiful and intricately detailed feat in itself, but from the front, it showed the stone image of the beautiful Lady Eruraviel, the founder of Plume City. She had died many years after founding Plume City, in battle, after being taken down by one of the Untamed, but her memory was preserved by the statue, all remembered her sacrifice.

Several minutes of purposeful walking later, I spotted the Elder by the pond beneath the huge canopy in the centre. She was sitting on the steps that led into the water, absent-mindedly trailing her hand through the cool, clear-blue liquid, brushing her fingers over the soft lotus petals that floated on the surface. Most people knew her by name as The Elder, but then again, I wasn't most people.

"Lady Tsuka?" I asked, a little nervously I'll admit, but then the Elder is a strange person to be around. She always acts so distant, so cut off, but meet her eyes and it's like she boring into your soul. She has a fairly confusing aura, vague but intense, distant but oddly passionate at the same time. I've never known anyone to enjoy being around her for too long and I think she knows it. I never minded it much though, so I bit down my nervousness and walked down the steps to sit beside her. Lady Tsuka was her true name, although few people knew this, she's hardly told anyone. I've no idea why.

Lady Tsuka didn't look up at the sound of my voice, nor did she make any movement that indicated that she'd heard me, but she knew that I was there.

"Good evening, Alydra." She said softly, continuously trailing her fingers through the water and silently looking at the swirling spirals and waves – the ripples that emanated from her motions.

"Same to you, Lady Tsuka." I watched her gaze thoughtfully at the water, like she could see something in the shimmering blue liquid or was trying to think something through. "Something's on your mind." I commented, it wasn't a question.

Lady Tsuka nodded silently, but said nothing. I waited quietly to see if she would continue. The thing with Lady Tsuka was to be patient, and not to push her. If she trusted you, she'd tell you everything in her own time. A few minutes passed.

"One of my sentries found the body of a human child this morning," she sighed, her dark eyes meeting my amethyst eyes. The looked troubled, and darker than usual. I wonder what upset or shook her so, maybe the reactions of her sentries, their possible apathetic attitude? I didn't know, and I didn't ask.

"How… did the child die?" I asked curiously, leaning forward to rest my arms and chest on my knees, gazing into the water. It's surprising how peaceful this action is, because you feel as if you can see forever, whether the water is shallow or not. It might be because you can sometimes feel like you're seeing the truth in water, because a reflection doesn't lie, unless it's below the surface, you can never truly tell how deep you're looking.

Lady Tsuka became suddenly quite interested in the designs on her boots. "All the signs point to a Cactopod attack, a multitude of puncture wounds, but I am certain that this is different…" She mused. "Last season, we found a small girl. It's always children…" she added, almost sadly. This was interesting, 3 known deaths of apparently the same cause, all three were children, and all three were human. I wish I knew why they chose children specifically… hold on… I realised something in confusion, I was thinking like the Cactipod were capable of thinking something like this, but from what I knew, they lacked the necessary intelligence. It had to be a coincidence.

"Lady Tsuka, I came to ask for help… My brother, he was befallen by a vicious fever a few days back. I was wondering, would you happen to know of anyone who might've seen similar, or taken ill to a similar ailment?" I asked her, watching her listen intently. Whenever I went to the Elder for help or advice, I never asked straight away, I've never been that forthcoming, besides, I like Lady Tsuka, and she's a nice person to talk to, or listen to.

After I'd finished what I had to say, she paused, thinking before she answered. "You know, I do believe I have heard of some individuals falling to a fever, but you would have to ask the healer at the apothecary, he has the records." Lady Tsuka said quietly. I knew I didn't have a very good description of the fever, but few elves actually fell sick, let alone to fever, so there was a chance, however minute, that it might be the same. I stood up and made to leave, "thank you Lady Tsuka." I said softly, starting to walk up the short amount of steps.

I didn't get very far before Lady Tsuka turned and took my wrist in her hand, the feeling of her silky skin enclosing mine made me pause, and I turned my head in curiosity. "Yes, Lady Tsuka?" I asked in a faint voice.

Lady Tsuka stayed silent for a few seconds, maybe to mentally word the response into a legible formation of phrases. I didn't break the silence, I was wondering what she was going to say. I didn't have to wait long.

"Alydra, before you leave for your village, I would appreciate it if you would be able to collect the needles from some of the Cactipod in the Plume forest, I need to find out what it was that killed the human children." She asked me, releasing my hand.

I thought for a moment, assuming it was the Cactipod that had actually caused the children's death, it may have been some new adaptation to survive, and that might not have affected all of the Cactipod, but still it was a chance to get some hands-on target practice, so I nodded. "Will do." I said in a stronger voice, and walked off; leaving the Elder by pond as she absently watched my departure. I heard her voice carry one last thing to me over the cool breeze. "It was nice to see you, Alydra Maethirion." I smiled, but didn't answer, and continued walking.

A short time later, I was walking across the open grasses of the South District, heading towards the Apothecary not too far ahead. I was curious to know how many had been affected by the fever, and I hoped I'd at least be able to discover the cause.


	5. Feverish Similarities

**DC: **Nothing's changed. I own nothing but the characters, and the NPC's names.

**Pronunciations: **

Akari – Ae-ker-ee

Sy – Sigh

**A/N:** I hope you enjoy the chapter, we will hear more of the figure… perhaps. Read and Review – I like to hear your thoughts, and anyway, the comment board… eh… review board… it's getting sad and lonely!

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The door jingled as I walked into the Apothecary, a building that, like every other building in Plume City, was a green ivory colour outside, but quite different on the inside. The interior of the Apothecary had a very earthy shade of colours, with old wooden beams running across the ceiling and lining the walls as shelves, where cabinets also hung neatly, firmly secured to the rustic surface. The walls themselves were painted a reddish-brown, almost maroon but not quite. Most of the buildings used a rather natural colour scheme, as well as many other cities and villages in Heaven's Tear.

My eyes scanned briefly across the walls and cabinets, finally coming to rest to rest on Akari Mo, the healer, who was kneeling on the counter at the far end of the room, his palms resting on his knees. A pale lilac aura surrounded him, he was in meditation. I decided to wait until he was finished, it was dangerous to disturb an elf when they were deep in meditation - their minds were more open to their surroundings, their nerves were raw to the elements, they were vulnerable. The aura that surrounded a meditating elf protected them from most mental attacks, but not all of them, and they were sitting ducks when it came to physical attacks. They could get badly hurt, even killed. This was why meditation was performed in privacy, where no-one could disturb you.

The lilac aura faded and Akari Mo opened his eyes, which widen in surprise when they saw me. "You should have knocked," he scolded me reproachfully.

I raised an eyebrow. "You would've gotten a migraine from the noise. I'm not _that_ sadistic." I replied coolly, a small smile playing at the corners of my lips. I wasn't lying; I was rarely sadistic… unless you pissed me off. Many of the boys in my archery class knew this all too well when one boy had been restrained below the surface of the Silme Lake for trying to intimidate me into leaving the class and transferring to another class, dressmaking had been his suggestion. Unlikely. I'm there for the long run. Elves can breathe underwater, so the jerk was in no risk of drowning, but Ultrafins and Tortoises will get curious to a young boy struggling below the surface of the water, and he was a fair distance out. I left him out there for two days before releasing him. Seeing my darker capabilities, the boy didn't bother me again; the other kids didn't bother me either, which was a bonus.

Akari Mo smiled slightly and brought his legs out from under him to dangle off the edge of the counter he was seated upon. "How may I help you, Miss Maethirion?" he asked.

I slowly walked forwards. "Mo, my brother was taken ill by a viscous fever a few days back," I told him, scratching my arm absent-mindedly, although it didn't really itch, "has anyone you know of fallen to the same ailment?" I asked.

Akari Mo pondered for a moment. "There have been a few, five in fact, as well as my own brother," he said quietly.

My eyes widened in surprise. "But your brother disappeared!" I gasped softly. Akari Sy had been in the small party that had left to dispatch of the Tauroc, along with my father. Not one of them had returned. Until now, it seemed.

"Yes, but a couple of days ago he was found by the sentries, having collapsed on the Highwind Bridge. He has been thrashing in bed for two days now." Akari Mo explained.

I concealed a smile, only showing it by a small twitch at the corner of my mouth. There had been a bad storm that night, rain crashing down to the ground, and thunder growling throughout the whole night. It was almost like pathetic fallacy. Except I didn't care about that. If Akari Sy was still alive, then maybe my father was as well? It seemed a little bit much to hope for, but still, I couldn't help it. "Has he said anything about what happened?" I asked.

Akari Mo sighed. "He keeps saying something about a traitor, and a stronghold, but the rest sounds like nonsense." He said quietly.

I nodded and looked away, "any idea of what caused the fever?" I asked him hopefully.

Akari Mo furrowed his brow, "yes, but… it is puzzling, I must say." He said, the look in my eyes compelled him to continue, I reckon. "The feverish all had puncture wounds that would normally indicate a Cactopod attack, but from what I know, the spines are not that poisonous!" he sighed again. "This is not anything I have seen before, but I have started on a cure at least, all I need is the cause and half the battle is over." He said, his words were reassuring to me, because more than anything else, I didn't want my brother to die. I had already lost one family member; I didn't think I could bear losing another.

Suppressing these upsetting thoughts, I smiled and nodded. "That's something, at least." I said.

Akari Mo laughed. "I have a theory that the fevers have something in common with the dead human that was found a few days back," he admitted.

I was surprised, but my expression didn't change. "I hadn't thought of that…" I tailed off, thinking, but I looked up again having realising how long had passed. "But I'd better go; Adalesk will be waiting for me." I said.

Akari Mo looked up. "The hostel, I presume?" he asked.

I nodded and he smiled. "Sleep tight, Miss Maethirion," he said.

I turned and swept from the Apothecary, the wind chimes tinkling with the motion of my departure. As I walked past the building I had just left on my way to the hostel, I glimpsed a shadow leaning against one side of the green ivory building, he wasn't moving - he was just… watching me, his darkened stare boring into my side. I stopped and jerked my head to the side, very quickly, searching for the figure who had watched me so silently and so intently, but he was gone, I can find no sign that he had ever been there - or even existed. "On top of everything else, _now_ I choose to become paranoid?" I muttered under my breath, unfurling my wings and lifting off the ground, headed for the lowest platform.

As I landed I spotted Adalesk waiting for me by the hostel door. "Hey," I said, "got the soulgems?" I asked, she nodded, holding up an average sized cotton bag.

"So, what did you find out?" she asked me, opening the door. As we walked inside, I started to relay what I had discovered, leaving out the shadowy figure I thought I had seen on my way out. No need for her to think I was crazy.


	6. Spinal Feelings

**DC: **Nope, I still don't own perfect world. Just the characters.

**Pronunciations: **

Dae – Die

Maethon – My-thonn

**A/N:** I've already mentioned it to one reader (stay quiet now, you know who you are) but does Lady Tsuka remind you of anyone? Think hard now, children.

You know the drill – Enjoy.

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I lay in bed, silently waiting for Adalesk to drift off. I had mentioned to her earlier that the Elder – or Lady Tsuka as I called her – had requested that I hunt down a few Cactipod so that she and Akari Mo could test the poison in the spines, which normally would only be very, very painful, and was theoretically sending the victims into a raging fever, but Adalesk didn't know when I would leave. I decided to go whilst she was sleeping, so she wouldn't fear for my safety. I didn't see why she should worry though; most times I could take down a Cactopod with one shot, and rarely more than two.

Quietly, I slipped out of the room, holding my boots with one hand, just to be safe. I moved quickly, quick as a ghost, flitting down the stairs and out the door, out, out into the open air. Instinctively I touched the quiver on my back that I never went without, complete with bow and arrows, just to be sure that it was there, and assured that it was, I jumped off the platform, unfurling my wings as I fell. The wind caught between the folds, pushing the outwards, pushing me upwards. I let myself glide south-east, passing the Highwind Bridge and entering Plume Forest.

It was dark inside the forest, trees surrounding me at every turn. Although – I suppose – these conditions were to be expected. It was night, and we _were_ in a forest, after all. I couldn't help but feel scared though, it's different in Bamboo forest. The trees are widely spaced, and the moon illuminates them and everything else at night, partially why it's often referred to as the Shining Moon Forest. Except here, in Plume forest, at night,_ especially_ at night, with the shadows pressing in on me, I always felt as if I were being followed. It's very unnerving, I tell you.

I landed, and wings folded away and out of sight, concealed by ancient magic. Naturally, I took out my bow and one arrow, ready to be notched, and started walking around, searching for Cactipod.

For a while I didn't see any at all. I just heard the treetops rustling as the birds roosted in their nests, and the chirping of the crickets hidden in the grass. Finally I heard a slight whooshing noise, accompanied by a bit of a squeaking sound, coming in short bursts. I turned my head towards the source of the new sound and spotted a Cactopod hopping behind one of the many trees. Without hesitating, I notched the arrow to my bow, pulled the string bag and released it. The air whistled as the arrow flew towards the Cactopod, hitting it just below the start of the spines, where its heart was located. It gave a weak wheeze and collapsed to the ground with a limp thud. I walked over and took out a small drawstring bag pouch, one of seven that I'd bought earlier from the bag-maker near the hostel. One for each Cactopod that I took down. I sat by the fallen creature and started to yank each of the spines out, taking extra care not to prick myself on their sharp points. I was no masochist. Once I had carefully pulled out all of the spines, I closed the bag and tossed it into the bag attached to my quiver as I was walking off to find another Cactopod.

Five Cactipod later and I was searching for the seventh and last one so that I could finally head back to the city and get some sleep. I heard a wheezy, squeaky growling noise behind me and I paused, noting that it was sounding in short bursts. I turned slowly and found myself staring into the sightless form of a Cactopod. Thing was, it looked… somehow wrong. The skin was way too light and had a sallow green hue. The spikes were wet and slimy-looking, shimmering with the venom that was usually contained within the spines, produced by a gland beneath the skin, which made a Cactopod sting so bloody painful. I narrowed my eyes at the creature, realising that it was probably sick, and that I didn't want to be anywhere near the damn thing. Trouble was, Lady Tsuka might find this one important, so I notched an arrow and fired it at the Cactopod, and it hit the spiny bobble which most people thought to be its head. The Cactopod didn't die though, it just got really, really angry, judging by the outraged snarl it released. I furrowed my brow at the creature in confusion, before its head started to contract and I winced, muttering, "Shit." Under my breath, mentally preparing myself for the pain of the spines piercing my skin.

But suddenly the Cactopod stopped. A shimmering wave flashed across its skin and it fell to the ground, dead as anything that well, wasn't alive, let's say a dead body. My ears twitched at the sound of a twig snapping and I looked up, searching for the source, but very reluctant to make a sound.

A man stepped out into the moonlight. "Sorry miss, did I startle you?" he asked. I didn't answer at first, I was taking in his features - he was good looking, certainly. His eyes flashed silver in the light, and velveteen brown hair fell down to his neck. Short, dark hair dusted across his jaw line, highlighting his lightly tanned face. He looked familiar somehow, but I couldn't think why.

I shook my head, smiling, "no, don't worry. Who are you?" I asked him. That's me. Fast and direct around strangers. Whoop-dee-freaking doo.

He leaned his head back slightly. "Tristan Dae, and who might you be, m'lady?"

I fought back a snort at him calling me 'm'lady'. I mean, I was all for being courteous, but my… that was just freaking overkill, and it didn't suit him. I walked forwards, towards him – and the dead Cactopod, unfortunately. "My name's Alydra Maethirion." I said, looking up at him. Well, he _was_ a little bit taller that me. "Nice to meet you, Tristan." I added to match his overdone politeness. I crouched down, taking out the final empty drawstring bag from my Quiver-bag. Opening it, I suddenly noticed that Tristan hadn't answered and was standing beside me in a very strange silence. I looked up. "You know the name?" I asked.

He started at my voice – a little, and shook his head. "I… thought I did, but it was a different person I was thinking about. An old friend by the name Maethon." He said, walking a little closer. I silently noticed how quiet his voice was, almost wistful. Was this old _friend_, perhaps an old love? "I must say, it's odd to find a pretty lady like you out here in the middle of the night – taking a stroll perhaps?" he suggested.

I looked down, back to look at the Cactopod. "Errand for the Elder." I said, starting to yank out the horrifically slimy spines. Eurgh.

"I see. Want some help?" He asked, but before I could politely decline, he crouched over by me and started pulling out the spines as well. "So why does the Elder wish for you to be collecting Cactopod spines?" he asked me.

I looked up at him curiously. "You don't know about the child killings?" I'd heard a few women gossiping among themselves about it, so I reckoned a few people did know, and word _does_ travel fast in this city, and in most cities, for that matter.

Tristan shook his head, "I've only just got here from the city of Heavens Tear." Heavens Tear was the name of the Elven Realm, but the main city was also named after the realm, an interesting mix, really, you had to define the difference, or people got confused.

I nodded, watching him out of the corner of my eye as I continued to pull out the unpleasantly, all-forms-of-nasty, slimy spines and placing them in the bag. Thankfully they were depleting in the amount left to pull. My mind briefly drifted off to my internal state. My heart was beating a little too fast; adrenaline was making my senses more refined. My stomach was twisting itself into knots and positively pulsing with flocks of butterflies at the same time. Interesting feeling to have to endure. Was it even possible? Seemed so. Trouble was, I couldn't think of why that might be, two options came to mind, but maybe it was both of them, I just couldn't tell. I knew that he was hiding something underneath that pretty face, that image he showed to the daylight world, and part of me wanted to know what he was hiding, another part was reprimanding that to do so would be a very bad thing. I didn't need to guess which side of me was right, but on what I wanted to do, that was a_ little_ shadier.

Finally I sighed in relief as the last spine went in the little bag. "Time to go, then." I said, standing up.

Tristan stood with me. "I'll go with you, if you don't mind." He said.

I gave him an interested look. He was being_ very_ forward. "I don't." I said, smiling as I did so, "besides, I'd like to get to know you better. " I added, mentally wincing. '_Bad girl_' I mentally scolded myself. I think I'd worked out the reason behind my internal state. I think I was _actually_ flirting a little, or at least being friendly. It all depended on how Tristan took it.

Tristan laughed at that. "I'll bet you would." He said. Ooh, very modest there. He leaned forward towards my face. "Now how much better would that be?" For one, very startling moment, I thought, and quite possibly hoped, that he would kiss me, and my cheeks flushed in agreement, but he leant back, laughing. "I truly _am_ sorry, shall we just stick with talking?" he asked.

I smiled. "Sure, we're close to the bridge, so we can walk, I guess," I said.

I took longer to walk back into the city when I went with him. Apparently he was brought up in Tusk Town, although I didn't hear much about that. After his 18th birthday, he left to travel the expansive reaches of Pangu, and to hone his skills. He mentioned that he was going to be in Plume City for a least a month as well, but that was all I got before he asked about me. When I briefly mentioned my father, I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes, but I left it for the time being. Besides, at that point we reached the end of the bridge.

"Do you need any help finding the Elder?" Tristan asked.

I plaintively shook my head. "I know where she'll be." I said simply, "so where are you staying?" I asked him.

Tristan looked up at the stars for a brief moment. "I'm staying at a friend's house while he's away. Second level, maybe I'll see you some time." He said that as a comment, although he sounded hopeful.

I smiled at that. "Maybe you will." I said. He nodded with a soft smile and flew off. I flew upwards towards Eruraviel's statue. Sure enough, Lady Tsuka was there, lying in the curve of the giant stone feather. I landed and handed the 7 bags to her. "You'll find one of them interesting." I said to her softly.

Lady Tsuka nodded, "thank you," she murmured. "I'll get them to Mo tomorrow." She said, holding two of the bags carefully by the tops.

I smiled, "have a good night, Lady Tsuka." I said, jumping off the statue and gliding towards the hostel, silently praying that Adalesk was still asleep.

She was.


	7. Suspicious Cure

**DC: **And my dancing little plot bunny sighs, and says "No, Jensa doth not own Perfect world, only the some of the characters, and their names…

**A/N:** I'm so sorry it took so long to get this up! I had my GCSE exams, so I thought it best to focus on my revision, I do hope you enjoy this, and I will start writing the next chapter as soon as I have thought of it. R&R if you can guys.

Oh, and enjoy.

Xx

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Turns out that the Cactipod were causing the fevers _and_ the deaths.

When Akari Mo got his results, he gave them to Lady Tsuka, who got a message to me the other day, telling me she had the results and to meet her at the apothecary when I could.

That's where I am now, sitting with Akari Mo and Lady Tsuka, drinking Rosehip tea and mulling over the results whilst Akari Mo thinks up a cure.

"It killed the children, but only sends the elves into a fever…" Lady Tsuka said softly, crouching on Akari Mo's desk. Her hand was trailing down the sheet of parchment that contained Akari Mo's results.

Akari Mo looked up from his papers, beakers and dishes. The dishes contained samples of the last Cactopod's venom – because that was the one that appeared to be causing all the trouble. He was testing out different herbal combinations on the venom, but also on the blood of an elf. He had to make sure that the combination destroyed the venom, but didn't end up killing the elf as a result. "The humans died because their heart and cerebrum could not take the venom, and the immune response caused their body temperature to reach such a level that it was killing the cells in those areas. Death came rather quickly, taking only a few minutes, although the death was painful, it would not have lasted long. An elf's mind and heart are stronger, so it doesn't kill them." He said blandly. Fatigue was written on his face. I could understand that, his brother's life literally hung on him finding this cure, and he didn't know how long it would take before the elf's system gave up. On that thought, neither did I, and considering that my brother Ruscion, was younger than Akari Sy, he might have less time.

"Lucky for us." I said, very sarcastically.

I saw Lady Tsuka hide a smile as she put her tea down and looked through the pieces of paper on the desk. She leaned forwards, as if to get a better look, her arms resting across her knees. I saw an interested look come into her eyes. "Oh my." She said softly.

Akari Mo and I looked up at the same time. "What did you find?" he asked, with a sense of urgency.

"The poison in the spines is not an adaptation as we first though." She said softly. "I recognise this poison, it is found in scorpion valley…"

Akari Mo walked over. "By Pan Gu himself, you are right…" he whispered. An excited look suddenly came into his eyes, "I think I know the cure now." I could swear he was trying not to laugh with elation as he moved quickly over to the cabinet behind him. "The poison… is a combination of the Cactopod venom…" he took out one jar, "and the poison from scorpion valley." He continued, taking out a jar containing a clear light purple liquid. "Now both of these poisons have a very specific antidote." He said, putting the two jars on the table with all the flasks and dishes. "The oil in the Golden Herb dissipates the venom once in the blood; usually it's rubbed over the wound." He said. I nodded, as I had used that remedy many times before, picking the leaves and rubbing them over the wounds when I'd been stung.

"For the poison from scorpion valley, there is a cure I have only recently discovered…" Akari Mo started to say, but Lady Tsuka finished for him.

"The nectar from the Crolithian flower." She said, indicating the jar containing the purple liquid.

I was surprised, "you're serious? The Crolithian flower?" I asked. It was interesting, because usually the antidotes to some poisons were found near the source of the poison itself, because that plant had adapted to produce said antidote to survive. It seemed that the Valley Poison was an exception to that.

Akari nodded. "The nectar is a most excellent anti-venom, it absorbs through the skin fairly easily, you just rub it in." he said, pouring the purple liquid into a jar, a small amount, mind. "Plus, ever since the priest had them planted in the city, they are relatively easy to get hold of." He added. That was true, as it was said that a Crolithian flower grew where a drop of Eruraviel's blood fell, so the priest had wished for her spirit to remain in the city, and had some young elves collect some from the shipyard to be planted in the city. The flower was quite common now. No doubt when the antidote was distributed, the Priest would probably state proudly that Eruraviel's spirit was watching over us, protecting us. Who knows? She might be right.

Akari Mo then added the oil from the golden herb into the flask, along with a white powder that looked suspiciously like salt. I stared for a moment – Akari noticed my confusion, "the salt binds them together." He said simply. He poured a drop of the mixture onto the mix of venom and elf blood. After a few moments, he leant back and sighed in relief. "It works." He said softly.

I paused, thinking, "How are you going to get it into the blood?" I asked curiously.

"They drink an amount that is absorbed naturally by the body, and we also make an incision on their body and rub the mixture on the wound to make sure the entire antidote is absorbed." He said. "There's just one thing left to do – test it."

"On who?" Lay Tsuka and I asked.

"My brother." Akari Mo replied quietly and blandly, leaving the room through a door nearby, holding a flask and a small knife.

Naturally, we went with him, wanting to see the results of his 'test' for ourselves. When we walked into the room, we saw Akari Mo trying to pin his struggling brother to the bed. We quickly moved over to each side of the bed and pressed down hard on his shoulders. Lady Tsuka then placed her hand on Sy's forehead and suddenly he was still, his breath quick and shallow.

With a murmur, Akari Mo let a few silvery drops fall into Akari Sy's mouth. He then took the knife and made a small cut on Sy's chest before rubbing the liquid into the cut. A few tense minutes passed and then Akari Sy's moans quieted, and his breathing returned to normal.

Lady Tsuka lifted her hands away, as did I. Akari Mo pressed two, slender fingers against his brothers throat. "He's still alive." He said in relief. "He's just asleep."

I glanced at Lady Tsuka. "You do realise that if this wasn't an adaptation, then someone is planning this." I said softly.

Lady Tsuka sighed. "Yes, I realise that." She said quietly.

"Who would do it?" I asked her.

Lady Tsuka hugged her knees to her chest, suddenly looking sad, and vulnerable. "Well, the untamed are located closest to Scorpion Valley, plus they've harboured a dislike of us for a while now. Humans could have done it as well, but I fail to see why they would kill their own children. It is possible that wraiths have an involvement in this as well…" she tailed off, looking thoughtful.

"Why would they do it?"

Lady Tsuka paused; Akari Mo looked up as I asked the question. We were both waiting for her answer. "I don't know." Lady Tsuka finally sighed.


	8. Moth to Flame

A/N: Do I own perfect world? Nooooo. Anyways, enjoy!

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The night found me wandering in the Shining Moon Forest – again. Talk about like a moth to a Flame. Right now, Akari Mo was administering the cure little Ruscion, and no doubt my mother would be freaking out about the fact that Lady Tsuka – The Elder Fae was in her house – her house! I could just see her face.

I should probably add something, Fae is Lady Tsuka's official name, and it's what the majority of the city knows her as. Unless she tells you her true name, and that is rare. I still don't know why she told me.

"Alydra?" Tristan stepped through the trees.

"Hi – Tristan, what are you doing here?" I asked, surprised. He'd come from the opposite direction to the Village, the direction from which I'd come. This should be interesting. I _was_ glad to see him though, to be honest.

"I came to see you, of course." Tristan said with a smile, "When I couldn't find you I had a look at the forest – interesting place..." he tailed off, looking thoughtful.

"That's true," I said softly, watching him with an attentive look, "what interests you about it?" I asked him.

"Oh – just something I found." Tristan said in an off-hand tone, "it's not far, I'll show you~" he took my hand and we ran a short distance, before a lot of Bamboo houses made themselves shown. At this point we stopped and I let my eyes trail over the surroundings.

"Oh..." I said softly.

I recognised this place. Thalion had shown it to me. My hand drifted to the necklace above my heart as I remembered. This was the old village. Many years back, it had been the site of a massacre. The wraiths had stole upon the village in the night and started killing.

My father had been the one who had seen one of the wraiths exiting one of the houses and rushed to the village chief to raise the alarm.

"_We managed to beat back the Wraiths but..." he had broken off, it was a painful memory. "So many died, your grandmother was among them." He said to me as we looked upon the sad site. "After that, we abandoned this old village and built a new one closer to the lake, improving our defences in the meantime" he said as we turned back and started to return to the village. "I was so young at the time, Alydra, but I remember it so well. I pray that you will not see a similar slaughter..."_

"there was a massacre here, Tristan..." I said softly, my hand falling back to my side. "my father told me about it."

"By Pan..." Tristan murmured, touching his forehead, and drawing circle above his heart, the olden side of protection. "how did it happen?" he asked me.

Quietly, I relayed what my father had told me, so long ago.

When I had finished, he gazed at me sombrely. "Alydra, I..." he stepped forward, and instinctively I stepped back. I suddenly became aware of the fact that I was backed up against a tree. Oh Dear?

"Don't you trust me?" he asked me softly, looking at me curiously with his beautiful eyes. Oh hell, he was gorgeous. I felt my suspicious thoughts and lingering mistrust trickle away like water through my fingers. I also completely forgot the tiny little fact that I had barely known him a week.

"Of course I trust you, Tristan..." I breathed, looking at him from underneath my lowered eyelids.

"Very good." He said to me, never breaking eye contact, and started to lean in closer, "you had me worried for a moment there."

Seconds after he finished that sentence, he pauded before capturing my lips. Quite literally – I was too dazed to fight back, and I am not entirely sure I wanted to, either.

My mind disagreed. Heartily. _What the fuck are you doing, Alydra?! *Fish Slap* Stop this now! *Smack*_

Unfortunately, I deined to listen to my mind. Oh good god I was dizzy, so I don't think I could've done if I'd wanted to. When at last he pulled away, I fell forwards like a limp rag doll. Tristan was the only thing that prevented me from hitting the ground and I heard his concerned voice say my name. I then heard another.

"Oh my god, Alydra!"


	9. Drowning in Opium

**A/N:** I still have yet to own any part of Perfect World excluding the characters. Enjoy the chapter.

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At Adalesk's voice, I felt Tristan start and step backwards, still keeping his hold on me as I dimly heard her dash over. And I do mean dash, Adalesk is pretty damn fast when she wants to be. Oh, the innuendo is there if you want it, I honestly couldn't care less. I'm serious here – my mind is concerned about far more important things right now… like '_What the fuck is happening to me!_' Because I honestly feel as if I'm drowning in Opium, and Tristan's the flaming poppy.

"_What did you do to her?_" Adalesk heatedly demanded of the man holding me. Well – would you blame her? She finds us, all alone, and with me near passed out in his arms. What did you expect her to think? Meaning yes, 'her' was me. That, or Tristan knew my family _far_ more than I would think appropriate.

But who am I to say? I'm feeling higher than the Dark Towers right now, which is saying something; those things are pretty damn tall. I've never really found out their purpose though… Anyway, I'm not actually sure why I'm feeling so… not myself, right now… It's gone a little fuzzy… fuzzy wuzzy.. I like fuzzy wuzzy… "She just suddenly felt a little faint..." Tristan said softly in a distant voice, but he appeared to hold a hint of stiffness in it. He must have been a little offended that Adalesk accused him of causing this. "I'm not sure what caused it, really."

Well, you know, now I think about it, I think I can very much disagree with your 'excuse', matey. Well, I can't, but I can and shall in my head. Jeez, is this guy even elfish? Well, he has to be, doesn't he? I saw the feathers on his head!

"I find that unlikely." Adalesk's dry voice came out to my ears.

"She'll recover soon, I think." Tristan replied.

At those words, my head started to clear. Enough to stand, but my memory of the last few minutes was a little blurred. What exactly had just happened to me? I wasn't sure, it was all muffled. I let my feet take the weight of my body and stood up, frowning as I tried to recall the last few minutes. It fuzzed out at the point where we'd come across the ruins.

"Alydra, are you alright?" Adalesk asked me. She sounded worried.

I ran a hand through my hair uncertainly, "I think… so." I said quietly, rubbing my head, as though I had taken a nasty bash there. I glanced over and saw Tristan's face, his was also looking fairly concerned, but for a second, just one second, I saw a flash of something I didn't recognise. All I know is it left me feeling horribly cold – and seemed to ice me where I stood. It let a little wave of fear ripple through me, but before I could out what it was, it had gone. It was just Tristan again, worry etched on his beautiful face.

Before I could dwell on what I just saw further, Adalesk spoke again. "I'm glad." She said to me. Tristan met my eyes again and I saw what looked like relief go through them as he nodded in agreement. "Anyway – Mother asked me to fetch you – Ruscion appears to be recovering."

I nodded and started to walk off with her, as I began to follow her from the clearing, I glanced back at Tristan, who smiled at me gently, and quietly stepped away through the trees.


End file.
